Opinion
Kansas high school students could learn better life lessons without sports during COVID-19
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Aaron Schwartz has been a teacher in the Kansas City area for 13 years. I love sports. I grew up on the magic of baseball, became […]
Why I welcome Christmas early in this not-normal year
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Andrea Zuercher, of Lawrence, works as the chief copy editor for a health policy journal based in Washington, D.C. Each year, it seems Christmas comes earlier. […]
Why students in an Emporia State ‘alternative facts’ class are not happy with their elders
Michael Smith’s students at Emporia State University have some advice for their elders. “I think our students are correct,” Smith says, delivering the news: “People over 40 need to understand just how easy it is to create baseless nonsense that sounds true, and how quickly it can spread online.” Smith is a political scientist. This […]
The grandson of this ‘fiercely bright and generous woman’ has a request for Kansans
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Erik Unruh earned his doctorate of medicine and master’s in public health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. 859. That is the number of Kansans […]
This Kansas doctor started fighting a scary new disease 40 years ago
I’m old. Old enough to be among those who had familiar feelings earlier this year when a mysterious disease broke out, and no one was sure how it spread, and everyone quickly learned what the letters CDC stood for, and we watched the death counts rise, and a doctor named Anthony Fauci was the government […]
Kansans must take stronger action against acts of discrimination
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. David Norlin is a retired Cloud County Community College teacher, where he was department chairman of Communications/English, specializing in media. I am blessed with many Kansas […]
By facing more of its racist truths, Kansas — and America — could heal more of its divides
One night in January 1901, nearly 6,000 angry Kansans gathered outside the Leavenworth County Jail. Inside was Fred Alexander, a Black man and a veteran of the Spanish-American War, who’d been accused of rape and murder of a white woman. Someone in the crowd used a sledgehammer to break into Alexander’s cell and “attacked him […]
Calling Dr. Crumbine — Kansas is sick and needs a prescription
Today we have a special guest. On the spirit phone is Samuel J. Crumbine, a Kansas doctor and public health pioneer. He campaigned against the common drinking cup, invented the flyswatter, and ordered bricks telling us not to spit on the sidewalk. Dr. Crumbine, welcome to the column. Thanks, glad to be here. (A bit […]
If we start seeing Kansas as dots of blue and red, it looks like a place of possibilities
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Jeffrey Ann Goudie is a Topeka-based freelance writer and book critic. How we frame what we see shapes and, yes, frames us. On Election Day, my […]
From Lawrence, here’s one Kansas record of the year
To me, Colin Halliburton’s voice has always sounded like Kansas. That’s a ridiculous thing to say about one singer, especially a white-dude Americana songwriter in a state with more cultural diversity than it gets credit for — where the world-class opera singer Joyce DiDonato trained at Wichita State University and Topeka has a legacy of […]
A Kansas child of the 1980s commits to the ideals she learned from Neil Diamond
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Audrey Coleman is associate director and director of museum and archives at the Dole Institute of Politics. I’ve been thinking a lot about Neil Diamond lately. […]
When gratitude isn’t enough — a Thanksgiving lament for Kansas
What happens when it’s Thanksgiving week and gratitude isn’t enough? It’s not enough to say thank you to health care workers. While many of us have followed public health guidance and made sacrifices, our collective selfishness has now exhausted nurses and overwhelmed hospitals — despite months of warnings that this would happen. “The long hours […]